Hundreds of law enforcement officers arrive for holiday and Bikefest weekend

Law enforcement agencies from all over the state arrive in Myrtle Beach. (Source: Lisa Gresci)

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – This weekend presents a unique situation for area law enforcement, as two major events come together at the same time.

“With Myrtle Beach, with Memorial Day weekend, if you take the bike rally out, it's still a very busy weekend because of Memorial Day. Take Memorial Day out, and it's still a very busy weekend because of the bike rally,” said Cpl. Sonny Collins with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

This year will see another major law enforcement response. While the exact number of troopers coming into the city this weekend for safety reasons was available, the Myrtle Beach Convention Center parking lot's hundreds of spaces are filling up fast.

“We are bringing in more troopers to work this area, particularly that northern end,” Collins said.

He added that locals and visitors can expect to see the majority of SCHP patrol troopers in the areas of North Myrtle Beach and Atlantic Beach. The major focus will be on traffic control, with one of the most important areas being the bike shoot.

“You’ll see a lot of that traffic back up into the shoot, with so many people trying to get into Atlantic Beach during those peak hours,” Collins said.

Though crowds are expected to show up in numbers on Friday. Thursday, is when law enforcement needed to be along the Grand Strand.

“They can actually ride and look at where they are going to be working at for the rest of the weekend. We start fresh 7 a.m. Friday morning. We'll have everybody ready to go, so as these crowds come in, we're prepared to handle that traffic,” Collins said.

Last year, Collins said they did not investigate any fatal crashes involving a motorcycle, but there were several bike-related crashes.

“We’d like to see that number at zero," he said. "We'd like to see this weekend end without any motorcycle accidents, without any fatalities and that's what our goal is. But we need every rider and every driver to do their part and help us reach that goal."

According to Collins, one of the biggest things for bikers and those behind the wheel of a car need to be aware of are blind spots.

For drivers, check them, make sure there isn't a motorcycle and check them again. For riders, don't stay in a car's blind spot and go the posted speed limit.

Over a three-year span, seven doctors in the Grand Strand and the Pee Dee wrote nearly 71,000 prescriptions for fewer than 13,000 elderly or disabled patients enrolled in the Medicare prescription program.

Over a three-year span, seven doctors in the Grand Strand and the Pee Dee wrote nearly 71,000 prescriptions for fewer than 13,000 elderly or disabled patients enrolled in the Medicare prescription program.